J.R. Tidwell, Sports, Sports Columnists
 By  J.R. Tidwell Published 
5:59 am Wednesday, May 23, 2012

It’s summertime again

We have come to that time of year again folks. The time of the year when kids are free from the bonds of the classroom for a few months.

A time when beach vacations and warm days by the lake are passed with friends and family while fighting off hordes of mosquitoes.

A time of myth and legend. A time when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and plagued mankind with suffering.

Whoa whoa whoa…I seem to have slipped off into the opening of the cult TV series Hercules starring Kevin Sorbo.

What I was talking about before I was so rudely interrupted — by myself — was the summer.

This being the state of Alabama, the summer months means soaring temperatures and outdoor activities.

The vast majority of my job revolves around covering high school sports, the playing of which grows sparse in the summer months.

So don’t be surprised if you see me around at different sporting events like little league baseball and softball. It is indeed all part of the job, and it’s nothing I haven’t covered before — for the TimesDaily no less.

In order to help me to do a better job, I ask that the coaches of the world (and by world I mean Franklin County) keep me informed about upcoming major tournaments and games, especially when All-Stars rolls around.

All you have to do to drop me a line is check the bottom of this column. My office phone number is listed right there, just as it has always been. Unless I got long-winded in my column that issue.

I can also be reached at the email address that appears under my name at the beginning of the stories I write.

I ask coaches to do this because schedules are hard to come by in the summer, so one can only be truly informed and in the loop by word-of-mouth.

I can’t be everywhere at once though, so I regret to say that telling me about an upcoming event does not necessarily mean that I can and will be there.

But I can’t be at an event I don’t know about, and that’s where you come in.

Thank you in advance for your time

Now then, fifteen bonus points to the first person who can tell me the name of Hercules’ sidekick in the show without looking it up. I do know the answer in case you were wondering.

Also on Franklin County Times
Roberts pleads not guilty to 106 counts
Main, News, Russellville
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — A Georgia woman facing 106 counts ranging from possession of child pornography to first-degree sodomy has pleaded not guilty to the cha...
Ex-mayor Oliver, 82, dies
Franklin County, Main, News, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 8, 2026
Former Russellville mayor and retired U.S. Army National Guard Major General Troy Oliver, 82, a 1961 graduate of Belgreen High School, died Saturday. ...
Patriotic banner donated to Tharptown VFD
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 8, 2026
R U S S E L L V I L L E — Lottie Coan, who has served as secretary- treasurer for the Tharptown Volunteer Fire Department since 2015, was sitting in h...
Miller Family Dairy opens processing facility
Features, Main, News, ...
By Addi Broadfoot For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
CROOKED OAK — Miller Family Dairy unveiled its new milk processing facility June 30, bringing the business one step closer to bottling its own milk, p...
Great Pretenders take stage July 16
Columnists, News, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
July 8, 2026
Each summer, the W.C. Handy Music Festival brings outstanding music and entertainment to communities across the Shoals. For more than four decades, th...
DAR chapter unearths patriot’s story
Franklin County, News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
July 8, 2026
In a forgotten patch of woods on a farm near Cloverdale, history had lain hidden for generations. It took a determined group of local historians, gene...
Hartley shares her ancestor’s legacy
News
By Chelsea Retherford Staff Writer 
July 8, 2026
Patricia Hartley has always felt a strong sense of patriotism and duty to community and family. It was only recently that she discovered those were fa...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *